65-year-old Yunnan woman passes on embroidery skills

Bi Yueying is a 65-year-old woman of the Yi ethnic group in Shilin (the Stone Forest) County, Yunnan. She still has deft hands and sharp eyes. Today her passion for Sani embroidery is just as keen as it was when she first learned the craft from her mother as a child. As a national intangible cultural heritage successor, she now often travels to other places, to pass on her embroidery skills.

The Sani is a branch of the Yi ethnic group, and live predominantly in Shilin. Sani embroidery is a unique handicraft with a long history. It has retained its local characteristics and ethnic style into modern times. Today, Sani embroidery has become a Chinese national intangible cultural heritage. It has stunned both domestic and foreign tourists, with its exquisite patterns and gorgeous colors.

In Shilin's Ashima Tourist Town, Bi Yueying runs a studio called Fang Cun Jian, to teach Sani embroidery skills to local women and tourists. She also visits the Shilin Ethnic Minority Middle School on a regular basis, to guide the members of the school's embroidery workshop.

She wishes she could do more to preserve and pass on the craft. "Embroidery is like eating and drinking for me. I don't feel right, even if I only stop embroidering for a single day," Bi said.

Editor: John Li